”We entered upon Al-Hassan while he was ill, the illness which he died from, and he said:

Greetings to you and welcome. May Allah greet you with peace, and may He make the everlasting dwelling (Paradise) lawful for you and I, if you are patient, and truthful and god-fearing. So do not make your share of this information, may Allah have mercy upon you, that you take it in one ear, while it goes out the other, for whoever saw Muhammed (saw), saw him coming and going, and he did not simply lay brick upon brick, or straw upon straw, rather knowledge was raised up to him, so he embarked upon it. Al-Wahi, Al-Wahi (the revelation, the revelation), to be delivered, to be delivered. Allah has blessed a slave with his mercy who lived life as it were once, so he ate little, and wore tattered rags, stuck to earth and exhausted himself in worship, crying when he made a mistake, fleeing from punishment and seeking His mercy, until his time comes and he is in that state.”

Ibn sa’d narrated that ‘Umar (r.a), durung his caliphate, inquired of him about the detail of his sufferings after embracing Islam. So he (Khabbaab Bin Arat) showed him his back. Seeing this, ‘Umar remarked “I have never seen such a back before.” He said “My body was dragged over heaps of smoldering charcoal, and the blood and fat comming out of my back put out the fire.”

His Love For Jannah

It is said that when Islam spread and the Muslims conquered all the surrounding territory, he used to weep and say “Allaah seems to be compensating us in this world for all our sufferings, and perhaps nothing would be left for us, as reward, in the hereafter.”

Repay Me!

Imam Ahmad reported from Khabbaab Bin Arat that he said:

I was a blacksmith and Al-Aas Bin Wail owed me a debt, so I went to him to collect my debt from him. He said to me “No, By Allaah, I will not pay my debt to you untill you disbelieve in Muhammad.” I replied to him “No, by Allaah, I will not disbelieve in Muhammad (saw) until you die and are resurrected again (which according to the disbeliever meant ‘never’)” He then said to me, “Verily of I die and am resurrected, and you come to me, I will also have abundance of wealth and children and I will repay you then.”

Then Allaah revealed these aayaat (verses of The Qur’aan) “Have you seen who disbelieves in Our aayaat and said ‘I shall certainly be given wealth and children…” until “…and he shall come to Us alone.”

This was recorded by the two compilers of the sahih and other collections aswell. In the wording of Al-Bukhaari, it states that Khabbaab said “I used to be a blacksmith in Makkah and I made a sword for Al-Aas Bin Wail. So I went to him to colect my pay from him… (then he mentioned the rest of the hadith) [Fath Ul Baari 4:372, Muslim 4:2153]

‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak used to often stay at home, so he was asked, “Don’t you get lonely?” He replied, “How could I get lonely when I am with the Prophet – Allaah’s peace and blessings be upon him (i.e. I read his hadeeth)?”

Also on the authority of Nu’aym bin Hammaad:

It was once said to ‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak, “O Abu ‘Abd Al-Rahmaan, you often sit alone at home.” He said, “I am alone? I am with the Prophet – Allaah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and his Companions.” Meaning: reading hadeeth.

Ibn ‘Asaakir, Taareekh Dimashq 32/458.

Shaqeeq bin Ibraaheem reports:

It was once said to ‘Abdullah bin Al-Mubaarak, “After you have prayed with us you don’t sit with us?” He replied, “I go and sit with the Sahaabah and the Taabi’een.” We said, “And how can you sit with the Sahaabah and Taabi’een (when they have all passed away)?” He replied, “I go and read the knowledge I have collected, I find their narrations and deeds. What would I do with you? You sit around backbiting people.”